Home > A look at the ArtFund Museum of the Year photography competition

A British fundraising charity for art, the ArtFund, is currently holding a contest to find the best photographs taken of or at museums.
There are six attractions in question, all of which have been shortlisted as finalists for the ArtFund 2015 Museum of Year award.

What are they looking for?

The pictures submitted do not have to come from professional photographers. Images can be as sophisticated as possible or can simply have been snapped on a smartphone. The more creative and unique the image, the better it may fare. Last year, William Lawson won the competition with his photograph of a stray sheep standing at the base of Henry Moore’s sculpture Large Spindle Piece at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

The prize

The winner of this year’s competition will be awarded with a holiday to Berlin, which is courtesy of the creative courses and holiday company Frui. With world-class architecture, fascinating street life and breathtaking historical sites, the German capital is the ideal destination to really bring out the creativity in a photographer.

All of the six shortlisted entrants will also be awarded with a National Art Pass, which allows free and discounted entry to UK galleries and museums. They will also receive a copy of Henry Carroll’s book ‘Read this if you want to take great photographs’.

The museums

The six venues shortlisted for the 2015 ArtFund Museum of the Year award hail from across the UK.

Dunham Massey Hall in Cheshire is currently home to the fascinating Sanctuary from the Trenches. Commemorating the First World War centenary, the exhibition recreates when the hall was Stamford Military Hospital in 1917-1919.

Meanwhile, Imperial War Museum, London in 2014 underwent a massive transformation and now has permanent First World War galleries, exploring the conflict from the point of view of the British people.

The Whitworth in Manchester is another of the award finalists. A sum of £15m was spent on transforming the gallery in 2014. Although it was closed to the public during that time, its programme of events continued throughout the year. Projects took place throughout the city of Manchester and beyond, which included pop-up galleries in locations such as Selfridges and a local Asda supermarket.

Last year, the Tower of London displayed 888,246 ceramic red poppies and the display had a massive impact. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Tower made the final six for the ArtFund award.

The MAC in Belfast and Oxford University Museum of Natural History have both also been listed in the final six of the Museum of the Year 2015 award.